playing with the law: clear and convincing legal resources for public librarians minnesota library...
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Playing with the Law: Clear and Convincing Legal
Resources for Public Librarians
Minnesota Library Association2010 Annual Conference
October 6, 2010
John Freeman, Minnesota Legal Services CoalitionBrian R. Huffman, Washington County Law Library
Mary Ann Van Cura, Minnesota State Library Services
Course Agenda
I. Background: Access to Justice: National and State Overview
II. Present: Self-Help Resources and Minnesota Initiatives
III. Future: Resources for Public Librarians:WebJunction Minnesota and Collaborations
Overview:
• The modern American legal landscape • National access to justice movement and involvement of public librarians.
• Why public librarians need to be involved.
• Minnesota access to justice history and recent endeavors.
Access to Justice:National and State Overview
American Legal System isStrained to the Limits
•Increased Filings
•Budget Cuts
•Economic Downturn
•Less use of Lawyers
Access to Justice – Minnesota – StatisticsMinnesota Dissolution with Child Filings, 2005-2009
Not a New Problem
Minnesota Chief Judges recognize need to involve librarians as far back as 1994.
Minnesota court funding one of the worst in the nation (Stawicki, 2008).
Enter the Access to Justice Movement
Access to Justice Movement
• History
• Friction Points: Increased costs of legal counsel Increased demand for access to court Increasing interests of new stakeholders Increased complexity and costs of process
• Goals: Turning courts into access-to-justice institutions; provide leadership and public access points outside and inside the legal system
• Model: Richard Zorza’s Problem-Solving Gateway solution
http://www.flickr.com/photos/takomabibelot/374364768/
Public Libraries & Access to Justice Conference 2010 – Austin, TX
• Attendees: 45 participants from 15 states
• Kudos! The Minnesota Team’s application was one of 15 states selected from 45 applications
• Purpose: The conference will be a unique opportunity for participants to meet with public librarians and with legal and court experts to discuss strategies for integrating access to legal information into their programs, including how to the best locate content and tools, how to talk about the content with library patrons, how to work with content partners to make sure that needed content is developed, how to share what they have learned statewide, and how to use successful programs to advocate for the importance of public libraries as gateways to government institutions.
Minnesota Public Libraries and Access to Justice
• Minnesota Public Libraries and Access to Justice (MN PLATJ) is a collaboration of Minnesota legal services, courts, law libraries, public libraries, and the state library agency
• MN PLATJ Team Members:– Mary Ann Van Cura, State Library Services– John Freeman, Minnesota Legal Services Coalition– Brian Huffman, Law Library Director for Washington County [Public] Library– Sara Galligan, Ramsey County Law Library– Katrina Zabinski, Minnesota Courts Self‐Help Center– Patrick Noonan, Minnesota Legal Services Coalition– Ellen Smart, Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis
MN PLATJ Goals
• Create a central repository for resources that promote access to legal information at libraries (Tool: WebJunction Minnesota)
• Provide training for library staff on resources
• Promote two-way communication between public library staff and law library staff and between legal content providers (legal aid, courts, self-help efforts, etc.) and public libraries
How Can Public Librarians Help?
Access Point for Public•Trusted•Convenient Locations & Hours
Key Concepts of Librarianship•Access•Customer Service•Provides Accurate Information•Trained Staff
Listen / Navigate / Don’t start with a “No”
Community Referral and Partnering
Minnesota Access to Justice
Key Groups:
Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged Committee (MSBA)
Minnesota Legal Services Coalition (regional civil legal aid programs and other specialized providers)
Minnesota Legal Services Planning Committee (Minnesota Supreme Court)
Library Involvement: Partner in ATJ•State and county law libraries (resources and programming)
•Legal clinics at law libraries (academic and public)
•Self-help centers throughout the state (forms and phone service)
•Grant-funded pro se legal training initiatives in Washington County
•State library agencies
•Minnesota Access to Justice for Public Librarians team
•Law Library Associations
•Ongoing web presence on WebJunction Minnesota for public librarians
ReferencesNordick, Andrea. (December 28, 2009). Leveling the playing field for pro se litigants. The Hennepin Lawyer. See http://hennepin.timberlakepublishing.com/article.asp?article=1389&paper=1&cat=147
Recommendations from the Minnesota conference of chief judges. (1996). See http://www.unbundledlaw.org/Recommendations/Sourcematerials/Minnesota.htm
Report to the community: The 2009 annual report of the Minnesota judicial branch. p. 19, See http://www.mncourts.gov/Documents/0/Public/Court_Information_Office/AR_09_Final.pdf
Stawicki, Elizabeth. (December 30, 2008). Minnesota's court budget woes are part of nationwide trend. Minnesota Public Radio. See http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/12/29/national_court_budget_woes/
Zorza, Richard. (2010). Courts in the 21st century: The access to justice transformation. The Judges Journal. 49(1), 14-19; 35-36.
Zorza, Richard. (2010). “Public Libraries and Access to Justice” inFuture Trends in the State Courts 2010 . See http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/Trends/
Self-Help Resourcesand Minnesota Initiatives
John FreemanStaff Attorney / Website CoordinatorMinnesota Legal Services Coalition
The Challenge: Unmet Legal Need
Four findings of the Sept. 2009 Legal Services Corporation “Justice Gap” Report
Eligible Low-IncomeIndividuals Turned Away
1. For every client served by legal aid, one person who seeks help is turned down because of insufficient resources.
– Many others are turned down for other reasons (conflicts, priorities, relative merit, etc.).
2. Fewer than 20% of the legal problems experienced by low-income people are addressed with the assistance of either a private attorney (pro bono or paid) or a legal aid lawyer.
Too Few Attorneys forLow-Income Minnesotans
3. On average, only one legal aid attorney is available for every 6,415 low-income people, while there is one private attorney providing personal legal services for every 429 people in the general population.
4. State courts are facing significantly increased numbers of unrepresented litigants, the vast majority of whom are unable to afford an attorney.
Other Factors
– Many, many more qualify for legal aid (at least those up to 125% of poverty level)
• Poverty level is set low, so many don’t qualify for legal aid yet cannot afford a private attorney
• Low-income population rising at an alarming rate– 14.3% (or 44 million people) in poverty in 2009
The Result
• More and more Minnesotans are navigating the legal system on their own
• And of course… More often, they are turning to librarians and library resources (including the internet) for assistance
Some Good News
• MN ranks 4th in nation for internet use
• About 50% of unmet needs can be addressed through low-cost intervention, such as educational and self-help materials.
– American Bar Association. Findings of the Comprehensive Legal Needs Study. 1994.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Current Population Survey (CPS) Internet Use 2009. Oct. 2009.
Websites & OtherWeb-Based Resources
• LawHelpMN.org– by: Minnesota civil legal services providers– for: Low-income Minnesotans with civil legal needs
• MNCourts.gov/SelfHelp– by: MN Judicial Branch Virtual Self-Help Center– for: Self-represented litigants in state courts
• mn.webjunction.org/platj– by: Minnesota Public Library / Access to Justice team– for: Minnesota librarians– includes links to sources above and several others
LawHelpMN.org
• A free website for low-income Minnesotans with civil legal needs
• Legal Resources• Legal Referrals• Multi-Lingual and Multi-Media
LawHelpMN – Legal Education
• 18 Topics• Fact Sheets• Booklets• Videos• Links• 22 Languages and 2
Translated Sites
A closer look…
LawHelpMN – Legal Forms
• Automated Document Assembly– www.LawHelpMN.org/
FormHelper
• Other Forms• Links to Self-Help
Center
A closer look…
LawHelpMN – Legal Referral
• Legal Help Near You• Legal Aid Office
Directory• Private Attorney
Referral Services
A closer look…
LawHelpMN – Other Assistance
LiveHelp Navigational Assistance
LawHelp Video Tutorial
LawHelpMN – 2011• Site is in the process of being
redesigned and in 2011 will include:– New Look and “Feel”– More functionality over fewer
disjointed screens– Ability to integrate external
content– Better support for multimedia– Integrated calendar tool– Better multilingual content
support
MN Courts on the Internet
• Minnesota Judicial Branch:• www.mncourts.gov
• Court Forms:• www.mncourts.gov/forms
• Statewide “Virtual” Self-Help Center:• www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp
Self-Help Center• One-on-one help via
call-center and email– No income limits– Answer questions
about forms & procedures
• Court forms with clear, plain language contextual information– State Court issues
A closer look…
New Tools for Pro Se Litigants• Automated Document Assembly
– Like TurboTax® for Legal Forms
• Online Intake in 2011– For Hennepin and 21 other
counties– 3 more counties for seniors and
all 87 counties for disability law issues
• Online Advice in Late 2010– For 22 Northwest Minnesota
Counties– Free legal advice through LION
(Legal Info Online Network)
Resources for Public Librarians: WebJunction Minnesota and
Collaborations
Mary Ann Van CuraState Library Services,
Minnesota Department of [email protected]
What is WebJunction Minnesota (WJMN)?
• An online portal to resources, courses and community for the Minnesota library community
• A place to centralize and share best practices, policies and procedures, forms, learning opportunities, and expertise to promote high quality library services to Minnesotans
• Find all the resources of webjunction.org and additional Minnesota resources
• A joint project of Minnesota State Library Services and Minitex, funded in part by the Library Services and Technology Act, a program of the Institute of Museum and Library services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning
Can Anybody Join WJMN?
• Anyone may view the web site without joining• Members of the Minnesota library community
are eligible for a free account• An account is required to
– Add a document to a Topic page– Participate in discussion or Group– Enroll in a course and get it for free!
• Sign up for a free account at http://mn.webjunction.org
Public Libraries & Access to Justice: Getting to the Resources on WJMN
• From the WebJunction Minnesota home page– Click the top level tab Library Services– In the left navigation panel, click Public
Libraries & Access to Justice– Or use the friendly URL
http://mn.webjunction.org/platj
WJMN Demo: Public Libraries & Access to Justice
• Bookmark this site: http://mn.webjunction.org/platj
• Overview: What’s Available, What’s Coming
• Adding Your Own Documents: Where, How
• Discussion
MN PLATJ on WJMN
• The Minnesota PL/ATJ Team identified and created the initial site
• We invite all to:– Visit and use the site– Contribute your material – Contribute thoughts, questions, and ideas to
the discussion
• The Goal: Service to the public via libraries in tough times
The Goal:Support the End User via Libraries
“Public libraries are critical access points to government institutions. As times get tougher, it becomes more and more important that people have libraries where they can find out how to protect their rights and navigate the complexities of our society. It also becomes more and more important that libraries can show how important and effective they are at meeting this need.”--Richard Zorza, Public Libraries and Access to Justice--Materials from Jan 2010 Conference, http://www.webjunction.org/legal-information/-/articles/content/93601257
Join the MN/PLATJ Team!
• Looking for public library staff from metro and from Greater Minnesota (1-2+)– Assist in making WJMN website relevant for
libraries that are open to the public– Review resources– Advise on content and organization– Provide perspective of library staff/user– Participate in online meetings, as time permits – May participate without attending meetings
Brian Huffman, Washington County Law Library, [email protected]; 651-430-6954
John Freeman, MN Legal Services Coalition, [email protected]; 651-228-9105 ext. 105
Mary Ann Van Cura, State Library Services, [email protected]; 651-582-8632
Sara Galligan, Ramsey County Law Library, [email protected]; 651-266-8391
WebJunction Minnesota–Public Libraries & Access to Justicehttp://mn.webjunction.org/platj
For More Information